And Haruhi Makes Seven
by Ktkat9
Summary: Tamaki and the rest of the host boys are *gasp* poor, struggling college students juggling classes, jobs and roommates! What happens when Kyoya brings home a six year old Haruhi in need of a home? Will they be able to handle raising her? One-shot collection of cute/touching/family moments. Enjoy!
1. Can We Keep Her?

Tamaki likes to think of the club as a family with Haruhi as his daughter, but I have yet to find any fics featuring a paternal Tamaki and a young Haruhi. So I made one -3-

Yyyyy

"What is it?"

"Is it a alive?"

The bundle moved. The twins jumped back in shock.

"Is it a pet?"

"No, Hikaru, it's not a pet." Kyoya returned to their living room with Tamaki. Mori and Hunny were currently out.

"I'm Kaoru."

The bundle shifted again and this time they could see what it was.

"Is that a kid?" Tamaki hurried over and knelt in front of the couch.

"Everyone, meet Haruhi. She will be staying with us for the night until I can get in touch with child services."

Two large brown eyes gazed nervously up at the blonde and the twins from under the blanket.

"She's cute."

"Can we keep her?"

"No, Kaoru. She's going to be placed in a foster home." Kyoya pulled out his cell phone and began typing on it, trying to find the number to a local facility.

"I'm Hikaru."

"Regardless. We can't keep her." Kyoya responded, not even looking at the twin. He'd stopped trying to tell them apart over a year ago.

"Haruhi." Kyoya looked up then. Tamaki was still knelt down by the couch; eye level to the stray child Kyoya had brought in. "How old are you?"

"Daddy says not to talk to stan-, uh, strangers." She took care to enunciate each word.

"I'm Tamaki. Tamaki Suoh. It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Haruhi." He smiled and held out his hand to shake. Haruhi blushed and withdrew a hand from the blanket to grab his.

"It's nice to meet you, too. Tam-, Taki, Tamama." She scowled in frustration while Tamaki chuckled.

"You can just call him Tama."

"Or Maki."

"Or she doesn't give him nicknames because he's going to get attached." Kyoya wiped the smiles off the twins' faces, all while still typing on his phone.

"So Haruhi," Tamaki was ignoring his roommates' conversation. Haruhi sat up on the couch and he could see she had on thin footie pajamas that had begun to fray around the edges. "What brings you here?"

"Her father works next to my office. He's a pleasant man, but, due to a recent death in the family, is no longer able to care for her." Kyoya found the number and grabbed a pen and paper to write it down. "He asked me to make the arrangements for her, as he could not bear to do it himself."

"Haruhi's going to an orphanage?" Tamaki stared at the resident accountant in horror. "Someone died and her father can't take care of her… doesn't she have any other family?"

"None that are financially able to take on the responsibility of raising a child."

The twins had lost interest in the conversation and had begun taking turns tickling Haruhi with a feather they had found.

"Why can't we keep-,"

"Tamaki, don't you dare finish that thought. There are six of us living here already and at that we're still only scraping by." Kyoya shot the blonde his signature demon's glare, but all that accomplished was sending the twins ducking behind the couch.

"You're exaggerating. Besides, we have room, and the way our schedules work out, there will always be someone here."

"We are not taking in a child, Tamaki." Kyoya leveled a stare at him, but the blonde refused to back down. "This is a major financial and emotional investment. Plus, you have to factor in space. Kids need toys, books, games, medical supplies, food that suits their diet, a bed-,"

"Hunny usually sleeps in Mori's room, anyway. Those two can bunk together, and she can have his room. I bet when I explain the situation, I can get tons of free toys and clothes from work, you can find out if she has any allergies from her dad, and I bet Hunny, Hikaru and Kaoru would love to play with her." Tamaki countered smugly, as though he had already figured it all out.

"There is also the issue of her age. As soon as the summer is over, Haruhi is going to start school for the first time. Are we going to be able to afford school supplies? And entering such an environment suddenly almost guarantees that her immune system is going to get a jump-start in fighting viruses and illnesses. Are we going to be able to take off of work to pick her up from school and care for her?"

"There are six of us here with rotating schedules. Finding one person to pick her up won't be a problem." Tamaki smiled cockily. Contrary to popular belief, he was the only one in the house able to hold his own against Kyoya.

"I don't need much room. And I have a pack-back." Haruhi tugged on Kyoya's shirt, big eyes watering. "Please?"

"Yeah, Kyoya. We can take care of her."

"We're going to be great big brothers."

The phone turned off and was placed harshly on the coffee table. "Hunny and Mori will have to give their consent. This is a major decision. If the it's is not unanimous, we're going to leave it at that. Alright? She goes to a foster home and the subject is not brought up again."

"Alright."

"Deal."

"Got it."

Yyyyy

It was three days before Kyoya saw Haruhi's father again. He had taken time off work to deal with arrangements for the funeral and the stress of losing not only his wife, but Haruhi as well.

"It's good to see you back to work, Ranka." Kyoya smiled politely. "How are you doing?"

"As good as I can be, considering. How is she? Do you know if she got placed with a good family yet?" Ranka averted his eyes. He hadn't wanted to give her up, but as it was, there was no way he would have been able to do anything close to caring for her. As it was, he was sleeping on a friend's couch because he couldn't afford to keep his apartment.

"She found a good place, don't worry. My roommates and I will be able to take care of her." Kyoya saw him raise his head in confusion and continued before he had a chance to interrupt. "We're able to care for her, and you'll always be nearby. This way, she will have as little in her life changed as possible and as soon as you're emotionally and financially stable again, we will hand custody back over to you."

"Are you sure about this? Haruhi's young, so she can be a bit of a handful at times."

"No worries. The majority of us have siblings so we know how to handle children, and we've already cleared out a room for her. She's fit right into the household."

"In that case, thank you."

Yyyyy

Haruhi and our boys, as is usual with them, are _not_ going to have a quiet go of things. Especially when you include a favorite stuffed bunny, Mori's self defense lessons, or the creepy recluse living next door. I hope you enjoy! Please review! :3


	2. Hunny's Bunny

Hunny yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. Mori was almost off work and he didn't want the security officer coming out to the car to find his driver and roommate asleep. It was nearly ten o'clock, but he had been up most of the night before trying to study for an exam and all he wanted to do now was curl up with Usa-chan and go to sleep.

He jerked up suddenly when the car horn sounded, only realizing a moment later that he had dozed off. As he sighed, trying to calm his heartbeat, he saw Mori approaching the car. He hit the button to unlock the door, but the tall man walked over to the driver's side instead.

"I'm driving." He spoke casually, but Hunny had known him long enough to recognize his 'don't-argue-with-me' tone.

"Are you sure? You just got off work." Hunny didn't want to drive while this tired, but he also knew Mori tended to push his limits.

"I saw you fall asleep on the horn. I'm driving." Mori worked as a security officer at the local mall. The pay was good, and he got decent (if late) hours, but the danger was high and his roommates were constantly worried. Though he had been intensively trained in martial arts, shoplifters tended to have knives, and robbers usually brought guns. Mori was good, but all it would take was a crook with a stroke of luck or a high-powered weapon and they would lose him forever. Thus, one of them, most often Hunny, would pick him up from work.

Hunny unbuckled and crawled over to the passenger seat while Mori moved the seat back and got in. in the amount of time it took for the car to make it out of the parking lot, Hunny fell asleep.

Yyyyy

Tamaki saw the lights of the car pulling into the driveway and looked out the window. Mori, still in his uniform, got out and walked around to the other side of the car, lifting out their resident culinary artist-in-training. Quickly marking his page, he got up and held the door open for them.

"Welcome home." He whispered. Mori nodded as he walked by. Without a word, he headed down the hall for the room he and Hunny shared. He was about to lay him down when the blonde's eyes opened.

"Usa?" Mori's eyes widened in realization that the bunny was not in its usual spot by the pillow while Hunny rolled over in search of it. "Mori? Where's Usa-chan?"

"You probably just left her out in the living room. I'll go see." He pulled the blankets up over the small body and hurried out of the room. The stuffed toy was not on the vouch, nor was it in the kitchen or Kyoya's office. By the end of his search (as was evidenced by his invasion of the accountant's personal space) he was just desperately looking anywhere possible, regardless of how unlikely it may be to find Usa there. The porch? The bathroom? The garage? He even tore the cushions off the couch... while Tamaki was seated on them.

"Mori, what the hell? You're going to wake Haruhi." The blonde picked himself up off the floor and began fixing the furniture. "What are you looking for?"

"Usa-chan."

Tamaki froze, eyes widening in terror. Everyone living under their roof knew how much Hunny loved that bunny, and the consequences of Hunny suddenly not having it.

"If we haven't found her in ten minutes, I'm taking Haruhi to the nearest bomb shelter. That should slow him down."

Yyyyy

As tired as he was, a combination of Usa-chan's absence and the ruckus Mori was making prevented Hunny from falling asleep. With a tired sigh, he got out of bed and decided to try and find his bunny on his own. He had just exited his room and turned in the direction of the living room when he heard tiny footsteps behind him.

"H'nny? Wa's going on?" Haruhi stood in the entrance to her room, sleepily rubbing her eyes. Clutched in her small arms, much to Hunny's surprise, was a very familiar bunny.

"Usa-chan." He knelt in front of her. "That's mine." He said, reaching for it.

As soon as Haruhi realized he was going to take giant, soft bunny she had found, all trace of tiredness vanished. She yanked Usa-chan out of his reach. "No!"

"Usa-chan's my bunny. You can't take her-," Hunny tried to reason, but Haruhi cut him off with tear-filled eyes.

"Bunny! Mine!"

"Her name is Usa-chan. And she's mine." Hunny grabbed the bunny, but Haruhi refused to let go.

"He's Bunny! I finders-keepers found him!" She sniffed and held Usa close, staring at Hunny through huge, brown, watery eyes. "Mine." She whimpered desperately.

Hunny sighed but didn't let go of Usa. They really needed to get Haruhi some toys of her own, but right now they still had a problem. Shaking his head and yawning large enough for his jaw to crack he released his hold on the bunny to pick up Haruhi. He was too tired for this, and it was too late for her to still be up, anyway. Silently, he walked off as she hugged Usa tighter, still not convinced he wasn't going to just take it from her.

Yyyyy

It was another hour before Mori gave up. Tamaki and he were the only ones home at the time and they both had classes the next morning. As much as he didn't want, he had to face the facts that Usa was missing. He grasped the doorknob, paused to let out a tired sigh and give Tamaki the time requested to find a hiding spot, and opened the door.

Hunny lay on the bottom bunk of their bed (Mori had brought it with him when he'd moved in, but used the bottom bunk for storage until Hunny moved in.) Clutched in his arms was the bunny Mori and Tamaki had just destroyed the house trying to find. But what really surprised him was what was on the other side of Usa. Haruhi, also sound asleep, had her arms wrapped around Usa as well.

Smiling and shaking his head, Mori pulled the blanket up over them and was about to go to bed himself when he realized their ladder tended to creak rather loudly under his weight. Slipping off his shoes, he kicked them in the direction of the closet, turned off the light, and eased himself over on the bed so that he was between Hunny and the wall. Finally able to relax after a long day, he draped a long arm over the three other occupants in the bed and silently drifted off himself.

The next morning, Tamaki went to wake Mori for class. He decided to skip knocking in case it woke Hunny, and opened the door. When he saw the bottom bunk, though, he ran to grab Kyoya.

"I feel like a proud father. She's fitting in. Don't you agree, Mommy?" The blonde beamed.

Kyoya ran a hand over his face. Tamaki was somewhat immune to his demon look of death, and was also the only one in the house with the gall (or bravery. Or stupidity.) to wake him up just to _look_ at something. "You are not their father. However, I will concede that not a day goes by that I don't feel like the den mother of this little circus." Kyoya grumbled as he walked back to his room. He refused to admit it out loud, but the sight of Mori, Hunny, Haruhi, and Usa-chan cuddling was one he was going to make sure he remembered for a long time.

Yyyyy

I finished writing this three minutes before midnight. I hope you enjoy! Please review and let me know what you thought! Also, in response to a review, I will not be mean to Nekozawa! I promise! He is one of my favorite characters and I have a good chapter in store for him. Goodnight/morning/whenever! :3


	3. Self-Defense

Haruhi made her way carefully down the stairs to the basement. It had been turned into a training room for Mori and Hunny, and she liked watching them. They were just so cool the way they moved so effortlessly. She held tight to the doorknob as she eased the door open and peeked into the room.

Mori was the only one down there at the moment, but he was making full use of the space. His _katana_ sliced through the air at practice targets with strokes that were just as clean and controlled as the ninjas on her morning cartoons. His face was as impassive as ever, neither strained nor tense. Given his size, silence, and (relative) lack of interest, she wasn't sure she liked him as much as the others. It wasn't that she didn't like him, though; it was just harder to tell if he liked her.

"Come here." Haruhi jumped when Mori dropped his _katana_ arm to his side and spoke. "Do you want to learn?" He didn't look in the direction of the door, still staring at his targets like they were real opponents who would take his distraction as an opportunity to attack.

Slowly, Haruhi slid the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside. She _did_ want to learn to do what Mori and Hunny could do. And they made it look so easy.

"You're going to need to know basic self-defense."

"What do I haft'a do?" She asked. The _katana_ Mori held was almost as big as she was, and she didn't think she could reach and of the exercise equipment he used. Thankfully, he set down his weapon and walked to stand in the middle of the training mat.

"We'll start simple. Can you do a somersault?" When he saw the confused look she studied him with, he crouched down until he was seated somewhat like a frog. "Like this." He tucked his head and rolled forward like a ball, landing crouched on his feet just a moment later.

Haruhi giggled. Mori was big, and it was funny to see him rolling around at her level. "That looks easy. My turn!" Before he could stop her to explain how it was done, she had bent down and pushed off the ground with her feet, determined to master this trick. Unfortunately, she didn't tuck her head properly and ended up landing on it, stopping her roll midway.

She looked up at him, mildly dazed, and he braced for her to start crying. After a minute, though, she burst out in laughter. Sitting up, she got back into position and did it again. "Boing!"

"What are you-," Mori was cut off when she stood up and trotted over to the wall, bouncing her head against it.

"Boing!" She laughed like it was the funniest thing she had done and took off up the stairs.

Yyyyy

Tamaki and Kyoya returned home to the terrified faces of the twins. The two were alone in the living room, but based on their expressions, something was up.

"It wasn't us."

"Something's wrong with Haruhi."

That was all Tamaki needed to hear. Instantly, the twins eye to eye with him, their jackets in his fists. "What did you two psychos do? Where's Haruhi?"

Silently, they pointed in the direction of the hallway.

"Boiiing!" Haruhi exclaimed in joy, running into a wall. She then turned and did it again to the wall behind her. "Boiiiing!"

"What is she doing?" Tamaki's eyes widened in worry.

"Boing!"

"We don't know. She went downstairs to play with Mori and when she came back, she was doing this. We didn't have anything to do with it!" Hikaru insisted, trying to pry Tamaki's hand off his shirt.

"Well, it's not uncommon for young children to find… unique ways of entertaining themselves. Tamaki, you stay here and make sure she doesn't to any damage to herself. The rest of us can use this as an opportunity to make dinner."

"Boing!"

Yyyyy

I hope you enjoyed! Mori is harder to write than I thought. This idea was taken from something similar I did at Haruhi's age that went down in family history. Up next, we have a Kyoya chapter! Don't forget to review! :3


	4. Haruhi Pays Rent

Kyoya sighed and rubbed his eyes, not sure he should hope the calendar was wrong or right. As the resident accountant, it was his job to make sure the bills got paid. That part he liked. Without him around, the rest of the house would fall apart. Everything would be shut off, and his friends would be left homeless. The only problem came from actually _getting_ his roommates to pay their share of the rent.

Yyyyy

"Kyoya?" Haruhi peeked around the corner of his office, knowing that he didn't like anyone else in the room. "Is there a holiday that makes people upset?"

The unusual question made Kyoya look up from what he had been doing. "I guess Christmas could make people upset. Long lines, everyone jacking their prices, awkward family gatherings-,"

"But Christmas is fun. Everyone's upset _today_." She insisted.

Kyoya left his paperwork and knelt down in front of her. "Why do you think today is a holiday?"

"Because Hi-," She broke off and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. There were still a few names she had trouble pronouncing. "Hi-Kaoru said that today was Rent Day." The twins had played the 'Which-One-Is-Hikaru' game with her so many times; she had switched to just calling them both by the same name.

Kyoya chuckled. "This isn't a holiday. Once a month, we all have to pay rent. Everyone's just upset because rent tends to take up a lot of our paychecks."

"What is rent? If you don't like it, why do you let it take your paychecks?" Haruhi grabbed his hand, looking concerned. She knew how hard everyone worked. Granted, she didn't fully understand what these 'paychecks' were yet, but she did know that they were important, and bigger ones were even more important.

"We pay rent so that we can live in this house. Everyone who lives here pays a part of the rent. If we didn't, we wouldn't get to live here." He tried explaining it in words someone her age would understand.

"So you give someone something you really want, and they let you stay here?" She asked.

"Eh, basically."

"Do _I_ have to pay rent?"

"No, Haruhi. We are letting you stay with us. You're too young to have a job, so we won't make you pay anything for about a decade, assuming you're still living with us then." Kyoya assured. Haruhi was a bit of a financial strain, but none of them were complaining. She was starting to fit into the household as if she had been a puzzle piece they hadn't realized they were missing.

"If you have to pay rent to live in this house, I should too." She fixed him with a determined glare. "Wait here!"

Yyyyy

"I'm home!" Tamaki called, hanging his coat on the hook by the door. Working at a host café tended to keep him out for rather late hours, but he made decent pay.

"Tama-Papa! Guess what day it is!" Haruhi ran up to him, waving a stuffed kitty Hunny had given her. "You need to pay rent!"

"Oh, really?" He lifted her up for a hug. "I thought I did that this morning. Whenever I leave you home alone with Kyoya, he always ends up filling your head with something or other. What did you do today?" Tamaki placed her back on her feet, mentally bracing himself. Surprisingly, she had a major tolerance for sitting through long, boring explanations. The last time she and Kyoya had been in charge of her, she had almost learned to read Shakespeare.

"I paid rent!" She proclaimed proudly, raising the kitty above her head like a trophy. "Wanna see?" Before he had time to respond, she had bolted off to another room.

"Haruhi." Tamaki ran after her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Aaaaaand _rent_!" She exclaimed, thrusting the kitty into Kyoya's hands. He smiled, patted her on the head, and added it to the sizeable pile of toys on the kitchen counter.

"Haruhi's been paying rent all day." The accountant got up to welcome Tamaki home. "She's gotten very good at it."

"Kyoya," Tamaki covered his eyes with his hand. "Next time, couldn't you just teach her to ride a bike, or sing the alphabet?"

Yyyyy

I just _love_ the idea of Kyoya being an awkward parent! Let me know what you thought! Who's going to be next? :3


	5. Meeting The Neighbors

It was a rare day that Tamaki didn't have classes or work. The sun was shining and there were only a few clouds in the sky. He had Haruhi were currently in the front yard weeding the garden. She had gotten the hang of it fairly quick and, though it was inexcusably overgrown, had only uprooted a few actual flowers.

Sighing, Tamaki sat back on his heels and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Haruhi had left about five minutes prior to get them both a drink of water, and he hadn't heard from her since. Deciding to take a break, he stood and was walking towards the house when a series of giggles coming from the bushes caused him to pause.

"Haruhi?"

"Kirimi?" A voice from the other side of the dividing hedge called at the same time. As soon as he recognized the voice, Tamaki felt a shiver of fear run down his spine. Their neighbor, Nekozawa, was hardly ever seen outside of his house. Any time he was, a dark cloak obscured his appearance. There were also rumors floating around that he practiced black magic in his basement.

"Tama-Papa!" Haruhi crawled out from the hedge and waved. Attached to her other hand, though, was another hand. A young girl about Haruhi's age followed her, brushing leaves out of her pigtails. "I made a friend!"

Without any more hesitation, Tamaki ran over and picked Haruhi up. He knew it was mean, but their mysterious neighbor scared him, and he recognized this young girl as his sister. "Your brother's calling." He pointed her back towards her own yard, ignoring the surprised and confused look on her face. And with that, he turned and headed straight for the house.

Yyyyy

It was two days after the incident and Tamaki was spending some time between morning classes and evening work outside with Haruhi. She, at that moment, was learning just how to throw a Frisbee. The basic concept was stubbornly eluding her, so the game had evolved from pass to fetch, with Tamaki throwing the disc to different areas of the yard.

Haruhi bounded up to him, panting and laughing, and handed him the Frisbee. "Again!" She demanded.

"Alright." He pulled his arm back, ready to let the toy fly, when his phone suddenly rang. "It's Kyoya. I'll just be a minute." He threw the Frisbee and his 'Accept' on his phone. "Hello."

"Tamaki, I'm on my way home. I know we're out of milk, but would you check how muck bread we have left?"

"Alright. Haruhi, I'm going inside for a moment. I want you to be able to throw that when I come back." He laughed at the face she pulled and went inside. The kitchen was at the back of the house, where he couldn't see her, so her made sure to hurry. "We are almost out of bread, and the twins finished off the last of the rice this morning. Let's see. It looks like Mori's almost out of energy bars as well." He balanced the phone between his shoulder and cheek as he opened the fridge and cabinets, checking what they had.

"Okay. Anything else?" Kyoya asked.

"Are you going to the grocery store by the mall? Mori said they were going to be having a huge sale on bakery goods today. He was going to pick some up after work."

"He's usually tired enough when he gets off. I'll stop by for him. See you at home, Tamaki."

"You too. Drive safe, Kyoya." Tamaki hung up, pocketed his phone, and walked back outside. "Haruhi! Did you practice throwing a-," he broke off as soon as his eyes readjusted to the sunlight. The yard was empty. "Haruhi? Haruhi!" He bounded off the porch head swiveling. Was she hiding? Had she wandered off? Or had someone… no. They couldn't have. But he had been inside on the phone, and their yard wasn't fenced and-, wait.

On the grass, by the hole she had used to meet that girl next door, was the Frisbee. Trying to calm down, he went over and picked it up. The sound of giggles and laughter reached his ears, and he knelt to look through the hole. On the other side, in the middle of Nekozawa's lawn, was that pigtailed girl. She had a bowl of something and was sharing it with-,

"Haruhi!" She turned in his direction and he let out a sigh of relief. "Come here."

She stood and waved goodbye to her friend before trotting over and crawling back under the hedge. "Kirimi wanted to share her ice cream." She said, smearing pink stains all over her cheeks.

"You scared me. You can't just disappear like that." He scolded. She narrowed her eyes and glared at her shoes.

"Sorry."

He sighed and picked her up. "Lets clean you up. You've got ice cream all over your face."

"Can I play with Kirimi tomorrow?" Haruhi asked, eyes wide with excitement.

Tamaki hesitated. "We'll see. I don't know if I like you being over there." He set her on the counter and reached for a towel that he then wet and began wiping her face.

She frowned, looking sad. "Kirimi says people don't want to be her friend because they're scared of her big brother. They think he's a bad person."

"Is that so?" Tamaki frowned.

"Yeah. She says they don't like him because he wears a cape and goes out at night, so everyone thinks bad things about him, but he only does that because he's sick. The sun makes him feel really dizzy, so he has to stay inside most of the time."

Tamaki mentally cringed. He hadn't known that.

"He and Kirimi live there all by themselves, so she gets lonely a lot. Can I play with her sometimes?" Haruhi once again tried her puppy-dog eyes on him, only this time he wasn't so quick to ignore them.

He heaved a deep sigh, and remained in silent contemplation for a minute. Finally, he lifted her off the counter and set her on the floor. "Maybe tomorrow I'll take you over there to get to know them, okay?" Just as she began jumping up in excitement, though, he held up a hand. " _But_ you need to _promise_ me that you will never again leave this yard without someone knowing where you are." He gave her a stern look.

Grinning, she held out her pinky finger. "Promise!"

Yyyyy

Kirimi and Nekozawa have made their appearances! What did you all think? Let me know! Review! :3


	6. Shopping With The Twins

Hikaru and Kaoru each held one of Haruhi's hands as they walked down the street. It was their day for grocery shopping, and Haruhi had insisted on coming along. Kyoya had taken to teaching her about expenses and managing one's money and she had appointed herself their 'money watcher'.

"Swing!" She shouted as Hikaru and Kaoru lifted her off the ground by her hands, swinging her forward a step. Laughing as they set her down, she looked up at them. "Are we really going to your work, Hi-Kaoru?"

They grinned at each other over her head, already growing fond of her nickname for them. "Yeah, we are. We know all the deals and we have an employee discount, so we can really save money."

"And Kyoya gave me a counting list so I can tell you what is too…" she broke off and concentrated, sounding out the word Kyoya had taught her earlier that day. "Ess-, exemp,"

"Expensive?" Hikaru helped her.

"Yeah!" She let go of his hand to reach into her pocket and pull out a scrap of paper. The numbers zero through nine had been drawn out in a neat stack, each getting progressively larger. "Kyoya says the smaller numbers are ones you want to buy, because they are less… 'spensive."

"And I am sure you'll do a _great_ job, Haruhi." Kaoru grinned, steering her off the sidewalk through the sliding doors. "Would you like to ride in the cart today?"

Haruhi thought about it for a moment, but ultimately shook her head. "I wanna walk. I have to show you what to not buy." She held up her number list and the three started off.

"Remember, Haruhi. One hand on the cart at all times." Hikaru reached down and placed her hand on the cart. They had begun to notice that when they took her in public, she had a habit of getting distracted. She wouldn't do it on purpose, but after they had thought they lost her in the mall while visiting Mori, they always made sure to know where she was.

"What's first on our list?" Hikaru asked his brother.

"The bread isle-,"

"Ooh! I remember where that is!" Haruhi ran to the front of the cart, taking care to not remove her hand from the plastic mesh, and began pulling in the direction she thought baked goods were.

"Haruhi, that's produ-,"

"Shh. Lets just see where she takes us." Hikaru grinned. Haruhi looked so sure of herself, he couldn't help but to indulge her.

Haruhi pulled the cart across the store, through the rows of fruit, past the veggies, around the glass doors cooling milk and other beverages, weaved in and out of the displays of health snacks and finally stopped when they came to the canned food isle. All the while, the twins had hastily thrown in items as they passed them.

"Nice job, Haruhi. We've almost got our entire list done." Kaoru laughed. They hadn't stopped her or tried to direct her at all during her trip, and he seemed to have enjoyed herself.

"Thanks! But I knew the bread was around here somewhere." She looked around, seemingly confused.

"Would you like to try again? Or do you want us to take the lead?" Kaoru placed cans of soup and fruit in the cart and then crossed them off the list.

"I know where I'm going!" Haruhi insisted defiantly, once again taking hold of the cart and pulling it out of the isle. She was moving a bit slower than before, thanks to the excess weight. She still managed to make a complete tour of the frozen dairy isle, the meat department, an isle specializing in back-to-school items, and finally, the bakery. As the twins loaded up the last items on their list, Haruhi let go off the cart to throw her hands up in triumph. "I _told_ you I knew where the bread was!"

Yyyyy

Does anyone have any ideas for upcoming chapters? I would love to hear them! Don't forget to review! :3


	7. Lucky Rock

Mori tugged his work jacket over his shoulders, making sure it was straight before beginning to button it up. He was usually meticulous about his appearance, but today he was training a new hire. Every wrinkle was smoothed out, not a speck of lint was anywhere on his outfit, and his badge was as straight as possible. He had just sat down on Hunny's bunk to tie his shoes when the door slowly opened a crack. Haruhi peeked in tentatively, tiny hand clutching something.

"Do you have to go to work today?" She asked quietly.

"Yes. We have someone just starting today and my boss wants me to show him around."

Looking down at her shoes in disappointment, Haruhi opened the door a little wider and stepped through it. "Here." She held out her hand to him and dropped what had been inside it into his much larger hand.

"What is this?" Mori turned it over and examined it. It just looked like an ordinary stone, but it was coated in a fine layer of pocket lint and cracker crumbs.

"It's my lucky rock. I thought you need it today."

"What makes you say that?" Mori brushed off the rock, watching as Haruhi didn't respond right away. She just fiddled with her fingers.

"Tama-Papa said I can play with Kirimi today. You need it more than me." She looked worried, so he knelt down in front of her.

"Thank you. I'll be fine." He tried to hand the rock back to her, but she firmly pushed his hand back.

"No. You need it today. Please?" Her pleading eyes finally won him over. He could see that she was worried (probably something she picked up on from his roommates), so he stood and slipped it into his shirt pocket.

"You be good today, alright?" She nodded and he patted her head in farewell.

Yyyyy

Kasanoda was young, eager, and ready to start. The only potential problem Mori saw about him was his thug-like appearance. His long, red hair hung long but had been tied back as per dress code, and his eyes were narrow, almost like he was constantly glaring. One look from him and Mori knew most shoplifters would hurry to put back whatever they had on them.

"Thank you for showing me the ropes." Kasanoda bowed, picking up their plates from lunch and depositing them in the food court trashcan. Mori smiled when he saw the young man also took a moment to tidy up the area where customers had spilled or just missed the can. Cleanliness was strived for by all employees, regardless of whether they were in their department or not.

" _Look, asshole! You sold me a piece of junk, now give me my money back!"_

Mori snapped to attention, instantly locating the source of the disturbance. He may have been on break, but other security officers were nowhere near. His only hesitation was bringing someone as new as Kasanoda as his backup. A man was in the hunting and camping store, waving a sheathed knife while the clearly scared cashier tried explaining their return policy.

 _"Who the hell keeps receipts these days? I bought this last week and it snapped like a twig! See?!"_ Mori didn't look to see if Kasanoda was behind him. As soon as the man put his hand on the cover and began to remove it, he was bolting past patrons carrying their food and purchases and barreling into the store. In one swift motion, he grabbed the man's hand and wrenched him a relatively safe distance from the cashier.

The sudden attack had apparently sent the already enraged man over the edge. He spun and twisted himself out of Mori's grasp, brandishing the snapped blade as he did so. Before Mori could recover his grip, he felt the blow to his chest. Something snapped and he felt a stinging pain. He was mildly aware that he had knocked over a display of something that scattered all over the floor.

"Mori-San!" A flash of wild, red hair focused his vision. Kasanoda's worried face was right in front of him. "The paramedics are on their way. D-don't try to move." He ripped off his jacket and pressed it against his superior's chest.

"Th-the man-,"

"I got him. Don't worry. He's cuffed to the canoe display." Kasanoda only moved away from him once the ambulance arrived and the paramedics ordered him too. As they were removing his shirt to examine his wound, Mori caught sight of two, small objects falling out of the pocket. Jostling himself as little as possible, he reached out his arm and picked them up.

Yyyyy

"Takashi!" Mori didn't have much time to brace himself for the massive (if somewhat shaky) hug he received from Hunny. The pastry chef hadn't even changed out of his apron before rushing over to the hospital, and Mori now found his hospital gown smeared with flour, bits of dough, and what appeared to be lemon pudding.

"Are you alright, Mori?" Kyoya (thankfully) didn't go in for a hug, but still looked concerned. Behind him, Tamaki and Haruhi hung back by the door.

"I'll be fine. The doctors said the knife was small enough that it didn't cause as much damage as it could have." His eyes turned to Haruhi, who looked like she was desperately trying to put on a brave face for him. The way she was clutching Tamaki's neck, though, told them all just how scared she was. "The knife was also stopped from going farther by something." He gestured to Haruhi to walk over to him, and Tamaki set her down. "I'm sorry I broke it, Haruhi. But you were right. I did need it today." Holding out his hand, he showed her the two halves of the rock.

Rubbing her eyes, Haruhi took the smaller of the two pieces before folding his fingers around the larger. "You need that. Mommy said that as long as I had this, she'd know where I was and look after me. She can look out for you, too." Sniffling, Haruhi let go of his hand to rub her eyes.

Silently, Tamaki picked her up and placed her on Mori's bed so he didn't hurt himself trying to comfort her. Hunny moved over to make room for her and Tamaki settled down with them as well. Kyoya considered getting a jumpstart on calculating the costs that were going to come of this little hospital visit, but ultimately decided against it. He walked around the bed to the other side and placed a hand on Mori's shoulder, letting him know in his own way that he, too, had been terrified to receive a call that their friend was in the hospital. The twins would be along shortly, but for now they all were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Yyyyy

This was requested by a Guest. What did you all think? Please let me know! I planned to have Tetsuya show up as well, but I think I'm going to have to save him for the next Mori chapter. :3


	8. The Bully

Haruhi knew that she didn't know as much about the world as Tamaki and the others, but she knew a bully when she saw one. She just never thought Kyoya would ever be a target for one. He was a _grown-up_. Grown-ups didn't get bullied. And Kyoya was the smartest person she had ever met (even if he did nearly set the kitchen on fire the last time he tried to follow one of Hunny's recipes.) And even if someone _did_ pick on him, Kyoya lived with Mori, a master of fighting and security guarding.

That's why it came as so much of a shock to her when she found him in his office with a phone pressed against his ear, talking in broken sentences as if the other person kept interrupting. One of the first things she had learned upon moving in was that Kyoya was in charge, so _nobody_ crossed him on purpose.

He also looked upset, like he was trying to explain himself. He was walking back and forth across the floor alternating between running a hand through his hair and crossing his free arm over his chest.

"No… you know me-… I said _no_. She's not mine… no, Tamaki didn't knock up one of his customer-," he saw her and his eyes grew wide behind his glasses. Hurrying over to her, he quickly ushered her out the door and shut it, but not before she heard some of what the other person was saying to Kyoya.

" _-used to think you were too smart to do something as_ stupid _as this. School is what you need to be focusing on, not a kid who-,"_

The door shut but Haruhi could still hear Kyoya on the other side, though he was talking quieter now. Glaring, she decided that she didn't like the person on the other end on the line. He was being really rude to Kyoya, and she was now pretty sure that this argument was about _her_. Clenching her fists, she put on her scariest face and hoped that the person could tell how angry she was.

Haruhi heard the desk chair squeak and, before she could think about how much trouble she would be in, she threw the door open and yanked the phone out of Kyoya's hand.

"Stop being mean to Kyoya! Bullies are bad and don't _never_ get friends!"

"Haruhi!" Kyoya grabbed the phone from her and put it back up to his ear. "I'm sorry about that, Dad. I've got to go. Goodbye."

Haruhi sniffled, rubbing tears out of her eyes. She knew Kyoya was upset with her, but she had only been trying to stand up for him.

Kyoya saw this and sighed, patting her head. "Haruhi, you can't interrupt a grown-up's phone call. That was my dad and you were really rude to him."

"He-he was rude t-to you! He called you the S-word!" She sobbed.

Not knowing what else to do, and knowing that actual punishment was out of the question, he picked her up and just held her. "That's not something you should have heard. I'm sorry."

Sniffling, she buried her face in his shoulder, squeezing him tight. "S'okay." She dried her eyes as much as she could and leaned back to look at him, face serious. "You're not the S-word, okay? Bullies are wrong when they say stuff like that."

Kyoya smiled and pulled her back for another hug. "I know that, but thank you, Haruhi."

Yyyyy

This chapter was a combination of a few requests. MollyMuffinHead, Princessanime21, and Guest, I hope you liked this!

Let me know what you thought, or if you have any ideas for future chapters! Review! :3


	9. Where Storks Get Babies

"Kirimi had a qushun." Haruhi tried (and failed) to say. Mori and Hunny were in the kitchen with her at the moment, and they were taste-testing Hunny's homework. Mori was absently munching on the snacks while reading something with no pictures and tiny letters. He was going to be heading back to work in a week and had said that it was some grown-up paperwork he had to do because of his absence.

"Oh? And what was that, Haru-chan?" Hunny held out his whisk for her to lick the batter off of. He was done with it, anyway.

"If we really came from storks, how did they get us in the first place?" She proceeded to cover her face in pudding, not noticing Hunny's suddenly frozen posture, or Mori's attempts to dislodge the bite of cookie he had inhaled.

"U-um. Well… the storks get babies from… somewhere. And then they fly them out to the people they know really, really want babies." Hunny saw Mori's raised eyebrow behind Haruhi, who had been paying very close attention to this new knowledge, and made a quick, desperate, _'help me'_ face. Silently, the man rose and slipped out of the kitchen. One other person was home who might be able to help.

"What's the 'someplace'? Is it far away?"

Hunny was really trying his best to remain calm. Chika had never asked him anything like this. "Yes. It's very far away."

"Like as far away as Osaka?"

"I'll take it from here, Hunny." Kyoya walked into the kitchen and knelt in front of Haruhi. "Mori tells me you have something you want to know?"

"If I really came from a stork, how did the stork get me?" She seemed to have lost interest in the whisk. "I don't really think Hunny knows."

Kyoya grinned and Hunny blushed beet red. "Well, your parents really wanted a child, so they wrote a letter to the storks, kind of like a letter to Santa." The accountant stood and turned away from her, lifting the bowl of pudding from Hunny's hands.

"Kyoya, what are you telling her?" Hunny whispered into his ear.

"All children get curious about this around this age. This is how _my_ parents held he off until I was old enough to understand. If you don't like it, feel free to tell her the truth." Kyoya whispered back. He then walked over to the spice rack and set the bowl down.

"The storks are like baby Santas?" Haruhi's eyes wide as she followed him.

"Yes they are. And when the storks get the letter, they have to make you." He began picking up various items and adding them to the bowl. "They put in sweetness, a lot of curiosity, intelligence, a pinch of stubbornness, maybe a little rebelliousness, and a lot of love. And then, when they were done, they mixed you up and put you in the oven." He did just this, and then laughed at Haruhi's shocked expression. "Well they have to turn all of those qualities into a kid somehow, don't they?" He patted her head and handed her a cookie. "Now, why don't you go share that with Tamaki. He should be getting home about now."

"Okay! Thanks, Kyoya!" She waved the cookie and ran out of the room.

"You just ruined my pudding." Hunny gazed at the oven door, looking slightly defeated.

"What would you rather have; your pudding, or an end to that conversation?" Kyoya picked up a cookie and it into it.

"Was that really how you were told?" He asked.

"Yes. Although the visual I chose might have had a little to do with revenge. You've got a younger sibling. You should be better equipped at handling such a situation than me."

Just then, they heard the front door open. "Haruhi! Did you do anything fun today?"

"Tama-Papa!" Haruhi's feet could be heard tearing across the living room to him. "We have cookies! And storks made me in an _oven_!"

Yyyyy

This chapter is for anyone who has ever been asked The Question, and then panicked. Hope you enjoyed! Review! :3


	10. Lobelia Girls' Day Care

_Lobelia Girls' Day Care: Where Little Girls Learn To Be Proper Ladies_

Tamaki held the flier in one hand, and a small bag of snacks in the other. He had taken Kirimi and Haruhi to the playground and the two had run off as soon as they had stepped through the gates. Before he'd had a chance to sit down, though, a lady had approached him and thrust her flier into his hands.

"Your sisters are _so_ cute. Make sure your parents get that flier. We have a wonderful facility and very affordable rates. I know she'll have a lot of fun with us." The woman was tall, with short hair and a face that showed she wasn't used to hearing the word 'no'.

"Thank you. But they're not my sisters. The one in pigtails over there is my neighbor, but I can make sure her brother gets this. He's raising her on his own right now and could probably use a break." Tamaki carefully folded the yellow paper and out it in his pocket, while the woman's face turned to something more along the lines of a strained smile.

"Oh. Well, your daughter is also welcome-,"

"I'm just her temporary guardian right now."

The woman turned to look at Haruhi, who was trying to follow Kirimi up the slide. "I'm sorry, but _how_ old are you?" She had now lost her saleswoman persona and was now staring at Tamaki through narrowed eyes.

"I'm almost twenty-one. Why?"

"Are you still in school?" She fired back.

"Yes, I am. My roommates and I are all enrolled in Ouran University across town."

"A group of college boys hardly old enough to call themselves men think they have what it takes to properly care for and raise a young girl like her?" She lowered a deep glare at him. "If you care about her well-being at all, you'll call us. We _know_ what we're doing." She removed another flier from her stack and handed it to him. Before she could turn around and walk off, though, she felt something tugging at her skirt.

"Lady?" Haruhi stared up at her, eyes wide. "You should probably put on diff'ernt clothes."

She bent down to Haruhi's level, no longer glaring. "Thank you, sweetie, but I'm not here to play. This is my work uniform. I'm sure once your _guardian_ here," cue pointed look Tamaki's direction, "comes to his senses, we'll get you one just like it, okay?"

"Um, okay. Do I have to wear one?" Haruhi looked away and began fidgeting with her fingers, and Tamaki recognized the look as the one she wore when she knew she was going to be in trouble.

"Well it's the uniform of our day care. I'm sure you'll grow to love it. It was nice to meet you, Haruhi." The lady extended her hand to shake, but Haruhi quickly hid her hands behind her back. "My name's Benio. I hope to see you soon." And with that, she stood and walked away.

"Tama-Papa, was that your friend?" Haruhi asked, still wearing the same guilty expression.

"Not really. I just met her. And why did you want her to wear different clothes? Did you want her to play with you?" Tamaki picked her up and walked her over to the swings where Kirimi was trying to master the art of getting one to move.

"No. There was dog poop under my swing and I tried kicking it over to the trash can but missed." She lowered her head even further. "I got it on her skirt. But it was a accident, not an on purpose!"

Tamaki turned around to see if he could find Benio. "Thanks for telling me, Haruhi. We should let her know before she gets in her car or anythi-," With a strangled sound, Tamaki cut himself off as he finally located the woman, just as she was closing the door to her car. He held up a hand to wave her down, but she drove away before she saw him. "That's not good."

"Am I in trouble?" Haruhi asked. Kirimi gave up on the swing and ran over to the two of them.

"Ah, why don't we count this as an accident today? If it happens again, them you'll be in trouble. Now, what say we go home for some lunch before she comes back?" Tamaki held out a hand for Kirimi and they left the park. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to see her again anytime soon.

Yyyyy

I've wanted to introduce the Lobelia girls for a while, but they're harder to write than I thought. Please tell me what you thought! Review! :3


	11. The Mummy

"Movies where the bad guy pushes and shoves to get his way?" Tamaki hadn't even had a chance to remove his school jacket. The twins sat on the couch in front of him, already feeling bad about the incident. "Good. Movies where the bad guy _rips the skin from his victims to fashion himself new organs bit by bit_? Bad."

"We didn't know she was in the room." Hikaru tried. It wasn't often that Tamaki got mad, but they knew they'd really messed up this time.

"Movies where the main character helps her mother with chores or bakes cookies? Good. Movies where the main character gets drunk after people _melt_? Bad. Do I need to continue?"

"No, Tamaki. We're sorry." Kaoru hung his head. Tamaki had walked into the house just as they were trying to calm Haruhi down. "We put her to bed hours ago. We thought she was asleep."

"Guys, she's six years old. Bedtime means nothing to her. Of course she's going to sneak out of bed if she thinks she can get away with it." Tamaki glared and walked over to the coat rack, removing and hanging up his school jacket. He had managed get Haruhi to stop crying and get her back in bed, but had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

"We're sorry." Hikaru repeated. They hadn't meant to scare Haruhi like they had. They had just decided to stay up late as neither had work the next day and school was scheduled for the afternoon. Channel surfing had led them to an old movie they had loved and not seen in a while and, as Haruhi had been put to bed hours prior, let it play.

Tamaki sighed. "I know you are, Kaoru. Just, please, you have to be more careful in the future."

"I'm Hikaru." He said automatically.

"Sorry. But you both realize that it's not just us guys living here anymore, right? Raising a kid doesn't mean we just buy markers and stuffed animals and… and set out another place at the table. We knew this was going to be a lot of work when we took her in." Tamaki pressed his hand over his eyes for a moment. "I had a really hard exam today, and it was a pretty rough day at work as it was. For now, I'm just going to leave the two of you feeling guilty and hope that's punishment enough. If either of you need me, I'll be with Haruhi, trying to get her to fall asleep."

Yyyyy

Super short, I know, but it's leading up to a future chapter. Maybe the next one, I haven't yet decided. I've been trying to adhere as much as possible to their character traits while sticking to the whole 'born and raised commoners' storyline, and I noticed that Tamaki has a habit of being harder on Hikaru and Kaoru when things go wrong. _Baby plot bunny attack_.

Also, for and up coming chapter, I would like to have a cameo by either a family member of one of the boys, or possibly Tetsuya. Let me know who you'd like to see! Review! :3


	12. Disney Dress Up

Haruhi opened the door after the fourth knock, expecting Kirimi. She was met with a pair of legs. The legs were clad in a tight, blue skirt and, as she looked further and further up, topped by a fancy dress shirt. The woman who stood on the front porch stared back at her for a second, glee written all over her face. Just as Haruhi was about to turn and yell for Tamaki that there was someone at the door for him, the strange lady scooped her up for a big hug.

"There she is! Oh, aren't you just _precious_! You're so cute-,"

" _Kidnapper! Kidnapper! Help!"_ Haruhi didn't know what was going on, but her dad and everyone she was currently living with had always told her the same thing; if a stranger tries to grab her, she was to scream as loud as she could.

The lady froze and Haruhi began struggling to get free, now just screaming. Tamaki bolted in from the back yard where he had been tending to his roses faster than Haruhi had ever seen him move. As soon as he saw the lady, though, the panicked look left his face, replaced by a somewhat annoyed sigh. Haruhi was so surprised by this sudden transformation that she quieted down.

"Mrs. Hitachiin, put her down." He lifted Haruhi out of the lady's hands and set her on the ground. "Haruhi, this is Hikaru and Kaoru's mom. Would you like to say hello?" He knew that she had just gotten a scare, but wasn't sure how bad. She wasn't crying, and this was someone she was going to be seeing from time to time, so he decided to try and move past the first meeting as quick as possible.

"You're Hi-Kaoru's mommy?" Haruhi held on to Tamaki's leg, but didn't make any attempt to hide behind him, so Tamaki assumed she was going to be all right.

"Hi-Kaoru?" Mrs. Hitachiin bent down to Haruhi's level, making sure not to come any closer.

"That's what she's been calling them." Tamaki pulled out his phone and sent a message to the twins that their mother had arrived.

"That's so cute! Why didn't _I_ ever think of that?"

"Your sons are on their way home. They should be here in about ten minutes. In the meantime, would you like to come in?"

Yyyyy

"You really need to have a word with your mother." Tamaki dragged the twins into the kitchen as soon as they walked through the front door. "I know she's been looking forward to meeting Haruhi, but she really gave her a scare."

"I'm not surprised. As soon as she heard that we took Haruhi in, she's been trying to free up time to come down and meet her." Hikaru sighed.

"She always wanted a daughter. When we were younger, she used to dress us up like the little girls she'd wanted." Kaoru finished.

"Oh, you two used to be so adorable. I think I still have some of your outfits in the attic." Mrs. Hitachiin entered the kitchen holding Haruhi by the hand. "Speaking of which, I'd like you all to meet Princess Anna." Haruhi wore a fluffy, green dress closely resembling the one worn by the younger sister in Frozen. "I believe I got the measurements almost exact! Go on, Haruhi. Give us a twirl."

Haruhi held out her arms like she had seen the ballerinas do on TV and spun. The four present adults applauded her.

"That looks like it came from a store. You actually made that yourself?" Tamaki was impressed. He knew that she was a seamstress and designer, but had never seen any of her clothes in person.

"I make all my clothes by hand. And I wouldn't get paid as much as I do of I wasn't this good." Mrs. Hitachiin took Haruhi by the hand and let her back out of the room. "Let's go, sweetie. I brought more outfits for you. Would you like to be Jane next? I even got my hands on a yellow parasol for it. Or Ariel? Maybe Merida. Have you seen that one?"

"Yes. The bears were scary."

"Well." Tamaki looked at his roommates. "I can really see where you two got your modesty."

"And she says she's staying for the week." Kaoru leaned back on the counter, already steeling himself. He loved his mother, but also knew her well enough to know what was coming.

"I hope Haruhi doesn't mind dress up too much."

Yyyyy

What's going to happen while Mrs. Hitachiin is over? Should Kirimi come for a visit? Or should round two with Lobelia Girl's Day Care happen? What did you all think of Disney Princess Haruhi? Let me know! Review! :3


	13. Make-up And Memories

"She's really nice, but I'm getting kinda tired of playing dress up with just me and her." Haruhi licked soda off her hand from where it had spilled. Nekozawa silently passed her a napkin.

"I love dress up! Can I come over?" Kirimi asked, standing up on her chair, pigtails bouncing excitedly.

"Kirimi, manners. It's not polite to invite yourself over to others' houses." Her brother lightly reprimanded.

Kirimi sat back down and took a breath, trying to find a new way of asking that still got her playing with real princess dresses at her friend's house. Fortunately for her, Haruhi wanted a playmate as well.

 _"Please_ Neck-waza? I don't think Kirimi's rude. Can she please come play?"

Nekozawa smiled and sighed, pretending to think it over vary carefully. "I suppose. But only as long as it's alright with Mrs. Hitachiin and the boys."

Both girls threw their hands in the air and cheered.

Yyyyy

"Here's one." Kaoru showed his phone to his brother.

"I don't know. It's kinda pricey, isn't it?" Hikaru flipped through the images.

"All the cheaper ones that I've found are trashed and disgusting. And besides, this isn't something that's immediate, right? We're still considering even going through with this."  
"I know, Kaoru. But I don't want to wait until something drastic happens. I'd much rather be prepared."

Yyyyy

"No, no baby. Keep your eyes closed for just a second longer. I need to get this just right." Mrs. Hitachiin said, rubbing something on Haruhi's eyelid. Kirimi squealed with delight, but Haruhi was starting to get tired of this. She hadn't spent this much time around a woman since her mother had passed, and had been hoping that Hi-Kaoru's mom would be like hers was. _Her_ mother had always been more focused on laws and rules than pretty and fashion, though.

But this was Hi-Kaoru's mommy. She designed clothes that made people pretty. This was important to her, and Hi-Kaoru were important to Haruhi. The last thing she wanted was for them to think she didn't like their mom.

"And done. What do you think, sweetie?" Mrs. Hitachiin held up a small mirror so that Haruhi could examine herself.

Kirimi gasped. "You look so _pretty_! Like a grown up!" Kirimi herself was wearing a beautifully floral sundress and had had her hair braided in such a complex tangle it reminded Haruhi of the vines that had grown up the side of her apartment.

Haruhi, on the other hand, had short hair, so Mrs. Hitachiin had opted instead for pigtails. She was wearing a light blue skirt along with a white, itchy shirt and weird blue coat. Mrs. Hitachiin had told her that lace tended to be a bit irritating to wear at first, but she would get used to it. And the jacket was a part of the outfit, which was why she could wear it indoors.

"What do you girls think? Should we go show the boys?"

Yyyyy

Tamaki was slicing apples in the kitchen when they found him. He had an open textbook by the plate and was dividing his attention between studying and preparing a snack, but quickly set both aside when he saw the girls.

"What did you do to them?" He knelt down to their level and clapped when Kirimi proudly showed off her new attire.

"I always wanted daughters. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys, but girls tend to be more excited to try on my designs." Mrs. Hitachiin nudged Haruhi forward gently, noticing with worry that the young girl looked upset.

Tamaki picked up on it too. "Haruhi? What's the matter?"

The ivy… if she remembered correctly… had white flowers. Whiter than her itchy-lace shirt.

"Haruhi, sweetie?" Mrs. Hitachiin tried.

It grew right up to her window. Sometimes the leaves would get smashed when Daddy closed it. But never the flowers. Daddy would _never_ smash a flower. Mommy loved them too much.

"Haruhi?"

Daddy… he had told her that Mommy had gone far away to someplace really nice, but the 'dead' word had been whispered so many times by so many people that she knew the truth. Would Daddy be upset that she knew? Or knew and didn't tell him? Was… was that why she couldn't live with him anymore-,

"Can you tell Tama-Papa what's wrong?" She blinked and was surprised to see Tamaki's blurry face right in front of her. She hadn't even realized she'd started crying. Unable to stop herself, though, she let out a sob and yelled the only thing on her mind right then.

" _You're not my Daddy!"_

And with that, she wrenched her hand out of Mrs. Hitachiin's and took off running.

Yyyyy

I am still looking for requests! Arcs like this are what I come up with when left on my own! Review! :3


	14. Mommy

"Do you know where Ranka is?" Hunny asked, gazing worriedly at their charge. Kyoya was standing in the middle of her room, holding her to his chest and rocking her back and forth.

Tamaki sighed. "Yeah. Tokyo. An old friend of his got him a temporary job at a bar. And if he wants to keep that job, he can't leave."  
Mrs. Hitachiin had left to take Kirimi home, so the boys were on their own for this one. Mori was at work, but everyone else sat in silence, thinking hard about what to do.

"Tamaki." Kyoya got the blonde's attention. Silently, he handed Haruhi over to Hunny and led Tamaki out of earshot. "I know your situations are different, what with your mother still being alive, but I was wondering if you could give us some ideas."

Tamaki sighed. He hadn't seen his own mother since he had been a child and, while he knew she wasn't dead, knew how hard it must be for Haruhi. "I might know something that could help. Mom showed me back when our neighbor passed away."

Yyyyy

Haruhi sniffed and rubbed her eyes. Crying had tired her out to the point that she had fallen asleep in the car. She looked around, recognizing the giant field they were in from her old neighborhood. She and her family used to walk past it every time they went to the store.

"Haruhi, do you know where you are?" Kyoya knelt down to her level. She wasn't used to him looking so concerned, and the unusualness of the feeling confused her to the point that she almost began crying again. She hadn't _meant_ to yell at Tama-Papa. Were they back here because they were giving her back to her father? Would he be upset with her for getting kicked out?

"I had one of these back in my old neighborhood. Do you know what it is?" Tamaki picked her up and began walking. Kyoya, Hunny, and the twins followed.

"M-Mommy said it was a rock garden. The man who lives over there grows rocks." She pointed to the groundskeepers shed.

"That's not quite right. You told me that you knew your mother was dead, so I think it's best to show you this. This is a graveyard, Haruhi. When people we love die, their spirit goes to heaven, and their body is buried here. This way, we can still visit them and talk to them." The entire time he was talking, Tamaki was weaving between the headstones. Finally he came across the one he was searching for. "Your Mommy will always be with you. And tonight your Daddy promised to call and say goodnight. He's been doing a lot of things that he can't wait to tell you about." He set her down on the ground and she looked at the smooth, carved rock.

"How do you know Mommy can hear me?" She asked softly, reaching out a hand to trace the letters. She couldn't read yet, and didn't know how to spell her mother's name, but clearly remembered the shape. The letters that came together in such a specific way that formed a name that could only belong to her mother.

Tamaki had prepared for this. "Because she left you something." He reached into his pocket and palmed what he wanted before she saw. Swiftly, he bent down and pretended to pick something up off the ground. "See?"

He handed it to her and she examined it carefully. It was a stone, about twice as big as her lucky rock had been. On one side was a painting of a heart. On the other side, though, were words. It fit snug in her hand as she held it up for Tama-Papa to read.

"It says 'Mommy loves you.' And so do we, Haruhi. We're your family now, too." He picked her back up and held her tight. "If you ever want to come back here, just let us know, alright?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

Yyyyy

I wasn't sure how much they should tell her about the whole death thing, since she _is_ still young, but I think this was just the right balance of truth and childhood fib. What did you all think of this one? Review! :3


	15. The Slide

"Watch me!" Haruhi waved her hands in the air to make sure she had everyone's full attention before running straight up the blue, plastic slide. She gripped the sides tightly as she went, but still lost her footing and slipped halfway up. Landing on her belly, she slid all the way down and fell on the woodchips.

"Are you alright?" Hunny helped her to her feet. Mori pulled the phone away from his ear, but Haruhi just giggled and hopped up on the slide to try again.

"I'm fine!" She shouted, scrambling up the slide once more.

"I'm still here." Mori put the phone back to his ear. Kyoya and Tamaki were almost done with the interview they were having with the principal and kindergarten teacher of Ouran elementary. Hunny, Mori, and Haruhi were busy inspecting the playground equipment in the meantime. If it ended up being a good fit, Haruhi would be able to attend school just across the parking lot from the rest of them. "How's it going?"

 _"Very well. Tamaki and I are going to be joining you out on the playground just as soon as the last of the paperwork is filled out, so you might want to let Haruhi know that we're leaving in a few minutes."_

"Alright-,"

 _Bonk!_

Mori turned back around to see Haruhi tumble back down the slide. She landed at the bottom and looked up at him, holding her head with a shocked look on her face.

"Are you okay? I think that's enough playing on the slide today." Hunny examined her head.

Haruhi just hopped up and threw her hands into the air in victory. "I made it to the top! Did you see? Did you see?"

"I think we're about ready to go home as well." Mori shook his head and hung up the phone. The metal bar across the top of the slide had gotten him multiple times as a child as well. He had never understood all of his parents' playground rules, though, until Haruhi had moved in.

Yyyyy

School is going to be starting soon for Haruhi! Any requests? Field trips? Maybe a class pet? Let me know! Review! :3


	16. First Day Of School Jitters

Haruhi traced the bright number on her alarm clock with her finger, unable to sleep but knowing that she still had another hour or two before she was supposed to wake up. Everyone had told her that she should get a good nights sleep before her first day of school, but she just couldn't get her eyes to remain closed. Finally tugging off her blankets, she rolled out of bed and tip-toed across the room to where her backpack hung on her doorknob. Unzipping it, she took everything out and began going through what she had.

Glue sticks, (but those always made her fingers stick together and smell funny. Why would she need them at school?) colored pencils (those were fun, but there were also a bunch of normal pencils in her pouch as well. Those weren't as much fun to draw with.) a long, funny-looking stick (Kyoya called it a ruler, but she didn't know what all the numbers meant). Everything she didn't think she would need, she took out of her backpack and left on the floor. Silently, she opened her bedroom door and snuck out. In the living room, she found her favorite book, and the stuffed dog Mori had given her. She would need these.

Sitting down to think, and to fit her things in the backpack, she caught sight of the cookies Hunny had made the night before and left on the counter. She knew that teachers liked it when students gave them food. Opening the smaller pocket, she carefully placed the cookies in and zipped it up. Licking the cookie crumbs off her fingers, she spotted the juice boxes on the counter next to the fridge. Everyone had told her that going to school would take up a lot of her day, so maybe she would need a few if she got thirsty.

It was getting harder to close her backpack, but she didn't know what else she would be needing for school. Everyone besides Kyoya and Mori had a lot of things they had to take to school with them every day, though with how often Hunny forgot things, Mori usually ended up carrying both their things with him. Her bag was so small there was no way she was as prepared as they all were.

Thinking back over what Tama-Papa had told her, she would be having a naptime and playtime as well. Hefting her bag onto her shoulders, she made her way back down the hall to her room. Sneaking back in, she climbed on her bed and picked out her smallest blanket. She then folded it until it was as tiny as she could get it, and tried to fit it into her backpack. She knew she was going to need it for naptime, but it just wouldn't let the zipper close around it. Using both hands, she tried pushing it in again, but instead just felt a sudden POP, as her hands were quickly covered in apple juice.

Scowling in frustration now, she pulled the blanket all the way out and fished around through everything else for the juice box. As she sat there, contemplating how to best go about fitting everything in, her door opened and Tama-Papa stuck his head in.

"Haruhi! Are you ready for… what is going on here?" He went from grinning to confused in a moment.

"I'm almost ready for school. But my blanket popped my juice." She held it out for him to see.

Tamaki just sighed. "Parenthood. I really wish there were a manual."

Yyyyy

I know it's been a while, but I really hoped you enjoyed this new chapter! Also, I have been leading up to a plot advancement in the past few chapters that is no longer going to happen. I apologize to anyone looking forward to what was coming, but I really want to keep this story as just a series of family one-shots involving the host club (host roommates?) and if the plot turned in the direction it was heading, the story would have evolved into something else entirely. Again, I apologize to anyone who was looking forward to what was happening with the Hitachiins, but I want to keep this true to the description.

Don't forget to review! :3


	17. Grad Walk

"Please raise your hand if you know… _where the backpacks go_." Haruhi's hand shot into the air, along with the hands of the rest of her classmates. "Now raise your hand if you know… _where the emergency exit is_." Haruhi stuck her hand in the air again, only to frown and look around in confusion. Was the emergency exit different than the classroom door? It led to the garden that separated the elementary school from the college, and that was where Tamaki and the others were, so if there were an emergency, that was where she would run. But was her teacher looking for a different answer?

"Please raise your hand if you are… _just raising your hand no matter what I ask_." Once again, Haruhi hurried to be the first with her hand in the air, only to realize (with embarrassment) what they had been asked.

They had been playing this game for the past half hour to get everyone acquainted with their classroom. Every time she would ask a question, their teacher would run over to what she had wanted them to see and show it off like she had just discovered it. The game was made more fun by the fact that Kirimi was in the same class as her. The two girls had claimed spots right next to each other and were currently holding the hands that weren't being raised into the air.

"Whoa! Would you all look at the time? One last question! Who here knows the word 'graduation'? I know it's a big word, but some of you might have heard it before."

Haruhi, Kirimi, and a few others raised their hands. The teacher (she had said her name at the start of class, but Haruhi couldn't remember it) looked around, contemplating, before making her decision and pointing at Kirimi. "What do you think it means?"

"I heard my big brother say it. Its what you do when you go to school for a long time and study really hard."

"Very good. And how many of you plan on graduating?"

Most of the class raised their hands, but there were still a few slightly confused faces.

"Okay, let's try this; how many of you know what you want to be when you grow up?" More hands went up this time. "And do you know how you're going to get to those jobs?"

"My mom can drive me."

"I live next to a mall."

"I'm going to work on my computer like my Daddy."

"I wanna be a hobo."

"I'm going to be a dog when I grow up."

"Alright, everyone. That's enough. I meant that you need to learn things if you want your dream job when you grow up. Do you think I just stayed in elementary school forever? I worked hard and graduated so that I could come back here and hang out with all of you all day."

"You worked hard so that you could go back to school and play games with kids?" The boy next to Haruhi spoke without raising is hand.

"Yes I did. That's just one option you can have if you work hard, Shiro." She smiled. "And since today is your first day, you all get to do the grad walk! Everyone line up single file by the door."

Haruhi and Kirimi stood up, still holding hands and claimed spots towards the front of the line, Shiro right behind them.

"Everybody stay together, alright? Follow the person in front of you and don't wander off. We're going to be walking through some classes that are in progress so that you can see some of what's going to be waiting for you when you get older. It's going to be super exciting, but we need to use our super quiet inside voices, okay? Who knows how to use their super quiet inside voices?"

Everyone raised their hands in the air again and they headed off.

Yyyyy

Haruhi could smell something good from down the hall. They were only going to be visiting a few classes, but she hoped that wherever that smell was coming from would be one of them. To her delight, their teacher opened a door that led to tile floors, high counters, and the source of the warm, sweet smell.

"Welcome to the culinary classes! That means that these people chose to study how to make _super_ good food! Doesn't that sound fun?"

As Haruhi's class filed in, searching for whatever smelled so great, she caught sight of a familiar face. Hunny was holding a baking sheet full of cookies, tarts, mini cupcakes, and assorted other small pastries.

"Who would like to try some of our class projects?" He and another classmate began walking along the line, handing out the pastries. "Here you go, Haruhi."

"Thank you, Hunny!" Haruhi exclaimed, claiming a lemon bar sprinkled with powdered sugar. She took a bite and squeezed her eyes closed at the sweet and slightly bitter taste. "Can you teach me to do that? Please?"

Hunny chuckled. "Maybe some day. They can be a bit complicated at first."

"Haruhi, what did I say about leaving the students alone?" Her teacher raised her eyebrows.

"Right. Sorry for not using my super quiet voice, Hunny." She whispered.

Yyyyy

A couple of classes later, and Haruhi was still trying to get the last of the lemon bar off of her hands. It had been really good, and some of her fellow students were still trying to finish theirs off. As she wiped her hands on her jacket again, she began to hear shouting. It sounded like a bunch of angry voices trying to be heard over each other, until they got closer. Then she began to recognize it as one person yelling, and a bunch of other people responding.

"All right, class. I know this class sounds a bit scary, but everyone here is super nice, okay? This is where you go if you want to learn the skills you need to become a policeman, or a bodyguard, or a security guard-,"

"Or a rent-a-cop." Shiro once again spoke without raising his hand.

"Shiro, that is _very_ rude. Where on earth did you get the idea that it's okay to call people names?" The teacher looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"My dad. He took me to the mall to get something for my mom's birthday and the alarm at the door went off when we walked through it. The cop who works there said he had to look through my dads bags, and my dad said he was just a rent-a-cop who couldn't make it as a real cop because he was too stupid to know what a receipt was." Shiro shrugged, while Haruhi glared daggers at him. Mori worked at the mall. There was a chance that _he_ could have been the one Shiro's dad had called names.

"Well, regardless of where you heard it, that is still a very rude word, and I don't want to hear one mention of it once we walk through those doors, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Shiro said, but rolled his eyes as soon as she turned around. Meanwhile, the shouts on the other side of the door had quieted down to just one voice. They walked in, and found a very strange classroom. The walls were all covered in padded matts, while at the very back were racks of exercise equipment. The thing that struck her as the oddest, though, was the fact that all the desks and chairs were neatly stacked along the far wall, while Mori and his classmates all stood in rows where there were supposed to be desks, arms crossed behind their backs, all watching the teacher expectantly.

" _Return your desks to their proper places!"_ The teacher shouted, and the result was instantaneous. Everyone ran over to where the desks were stacked, grabbed one, and ran back to where they had been standing, all without bumping into each other. They then resumed their stances behind their desks. The teacher eyed them all for a moment, before barking, " _Chairs!"_ Once again, everyone ran over to the wall and grabbed a chair. They then all returned to their places, set the chairs behind their desks, and stood at attention again. _"Sit!"_ Everyone immediately pulled out their chairs and sat.

The teacher then held up a stopwatch for everyone to see. "New record. Congratulations. _But_ I expect more out of you. Tadashi, you pushed Midori out of your way to get to your spot. This is not a race against each other. You need to work as a _team._ I do not reward for personal success. Morinozuka, you were the first one back both times, _but_ I find I have to remind you once again that your doctor wants you to take it easy until your stitches are removed. If you are risking your personal health or safety, you are not an asset to your team, but a potential burden." He glared at them all, as Haruhi stared wide-eyed at Mori. He didn't try to argue, he just nodded his head in understanding.

After the teacher was finished, Mori turned his head toward her and smiled. Relieved to see that he wasn't upset at being reprimanded, she smiled back.

"Hmph." She heard Shiro scoff from behind her. "Rent-a-cops really _don't_ know anything."

" _Stop it!"_ Haruhi whirled around, fists clenched at her sides. " _You don't know anything! Mori's smarter than you and braver than you and stronger than you. You're a rent-a-cop!"_ Tears filling her eyes, she broke away from her class and ran up to the very surprised Mori. Hugging him tightly, she turned towards his teacher. "Don't yell at Mori for having stitches! He didn't mean to get them, but a bad person was trying to hurt someone, so Mori had to save him!"

"Haruhi, its okay." Mori picked her up. "He's not mean. He's just making sure I don't get hurt on the job again." He walked her up to his teacher, who smiled and waved at her when she unburied her face from his chest.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, but I can assure you, little miss, that Mori is in good hands here. Okay?" Up close, when he wasn't yelling, he actually looked nice.

Turning her head to her own teacher, she saw that she was busy reprimanding a very sullen Shiro. "Mori has my mommy's lucky rock." She mumbled, looking back to his teacher.

"He does? Well, I've heard of this lucky rock. It does a very good job of keeping him safe, from what he's told me. That was very nice of you to give to him."

"I'd love to hear more about it, too!" Haruhi's teacher walked up. "I've talked to Shiro, Haruhi, and he says he's sorry. If you're are alright, we do have a few more classrooms to visit before out walk is over."

Haruhi sniffed and looked up at Mori. "I'm okay."

Mori set her down and she returned to her class with her teacher, who had suddenly started chuckling. "You know, the point of this graduation walk isn't to prove that you know more of the graduating class than me."

Yyyyy

I had planned to add Tamaki or Kyoya's classes onto the end as well, but this seemed like a good place to end it. The grad walk is also something that my school did to show the younger kids that graduating was possible. It was a bit different from what I wrote in this chapter, but fun still the same!

Also, I have not yet chosen a name for the teacher because I haven't yet decided if I want her to be an actual character, or an OC, or if she's even going to be that big of a presence in the story at all. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Also, last thing before I leave, Shiro isn't going to be a little jerk forever. In the show, the only reason he was acting out was because something major was happening in his life that he had no control over. I cant say what it is, but he won't be on Haruhi's bad side forever.

Don't forget to review! :3


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